


Racing Hearts

by PlanetSea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Klance street racing, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Pro Racer Keith (Voltron), klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-12 18:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18452216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlanetSea/pseuds/PlanetSea
Summary: Keith is a pro racer tired of the exhausting pro life and Lance is a broke man not sure where to go with his future. Together, they find out they just needed each other to make this life a little less terrible.Additional tags will be added as the story goes on.





	1. Hot Sips

**Author's Note:**

> A little background:  
> Keith is a pro racer with bikes, cars, and pretty much anything on wheels. Shiro is his manager (RIP Space Dad). The Garrison is the kind of school where it has both High School and College courses within it. Just separate areas and buildings. The characters in this AU are all of age! So no worries there. The youngest would be Pidge and she's 19 here.

Keith’s plan was simple: blow off training for the next week or so and hang out in his old college town to meet up with an old friend. Shiro was going to be pissed but honestly, the man should have known better when Keith drove off without letting him know where he was going. He told his manager that he’d be back before the next race and honestly, Keith wasn’t even sure he could keep that promise. When he arrived in town, he made sure to text Shiro letting him finally know where he ended up and what his plan was. 

Shiro, of course, wasn’t all that pleased and when Keith saw his name appear on his screen requesting a call he was quick to decline it and shove his phone deep into his pocket. He didn’t need a lecture right now. Instead, Keith hopped off his bike and stowed away his helmet into the compartment for safe keeping. He lifted his hands up to pull his hair tie out, letting the slide around his wrist easily. He made sure to stuff the keys into his pants pocket, the man adjusting his leather jacket once more before he walked out of the parking space and up to the little shop resting on the side of the road. 

It was a quiet morning so far, not many people seemed to be on the streets since school was about to start any minute now. The people he was going to run into would probably be college and older so at least he didn't have to worry about dealing with younger people. Talk about a disaster. Keith took one last look at himself in the reflection of the large windows, a plain expression on his face while his eyes traveled from the top of his messy hair, passed the black shirt and leather jacket, and down to the black pants he wore which ended in black boots. Yeah, he had a color and he stuck with it. Even his bike was black! Although that one did have purple accents to it so at least it had a splash of color. 

Keith walked into the little coffee shop, his eyes shifting upward to look at the bell that chimed upon entry, the man giving an amused huff as he moved further into the shop with his hands shoved into his pockets. A quick glance around the shop lead Keith to his target. A girl placed directly in front of a laptop carelessly typing away while sipping her coffee. She was short, had brown hair, glasses, and an over-sized green jacket. Yeah, she looked exactly the same as he remembered. 

“Hey, Pidge.” Keith greeted as he walked on over and pulled a chair out so he could sit down in front of his friend. Brown eyes peered over the laptop, a brow quirked upward as she looked over Keith. Was she judging him? Keith certainly felt like she was. He leaned forward in his chair a little, his elbow placed on top of the table while he in return stared her down. "Is there an issue?"

“Didn’t think you’d actually make it." Pidge snorted and moved a hand up to adjust her glasses, "Did you finally get away from your manager?” She asked in a teasing tone, her smirk giving away the playful mood she was in. Her slender fingers moved over the top of her laptop, pulling it down to close it carefully so she could lean over it and continue the staring. 

Keith shook his head and leaned back while he threw his arm over the back of the chair. “Shiro isn’t that bad, Pidge. But yes, I got away from him. I just didn’t tell him where I was until I got here. No press tours, no pre-racing, nothing. It’s just me and you..and the computer. You still carry that thing with you everywhere? Didn’t you graduate?” Keith asked, a curious look taking over his face. 

A quiet chuckle left the girl’s throat as she shook her head, her hand moving down to slowly stroke over the laptop’s surface. “He isn’t that bad and yet you try to ditch him all the time. You sure you’re in the top ten racing division? You really slack off way too much. And for your information Mr. Ditch-My-Manager, I enrolled again. My brother helped me get back into the Garrison so I’m going back full time. Already have an internship in the coding department so I’ll be working with Matt. Pretty cool, huh?” Pidge wiggled her eyebrows as she opened her laptop to turn it around to show off her newest code. All of which Keith had no idea what it meant, Still, he gave a little thumbs up for encouragement. 

“Wow. They let you back in after you hacked their system? Shocker. Hey, how’s the drinks here? Decent enough or would I have better luck at some other place?” Keith asked, his head turning to look over at the counter off to the side where the baristas were making orders. The all looked pretty comfortable here, their pink shirts contrasting pretty well against the brown aprons they wore in front of them. For an answer, Pidge just shrugged her shoulders and went back to typing. 

“Coffee is shit, tea is alright, and the water tastes like it came from the river. Pretty much exactly the same as before. Why? Too famous for shitty coffee?” Pidge questioned, her tone condescending as her grin. Keith rolled his eyes and pushed himself away from the table, adjusting his jacket and making his way on over to the counter. He remembered coming here back when he was enrolled at the Garrison. He’d spend his teenage years hanging out around the back of the building or sneaking into the bar next door, but occasionally he’d step in here for some good old fashioned tea. Whenever he did come in here, it was with Pidge and her brother Matt. 

He waited at the counter for a few seconds before a vaguely familiar face popped in front of him. His smile was warm and his eyes as blue as the sky. His voice? Soft as silk and his tone as friendly as warm. “Hey! Welcome to Hot Sips. What can I get for you?” The man asked happily, that sending Keith into a little bit of a daze. Keith’s eyes shot down to read the name tag, looking over that first to see if that sparked any memory. 

Lance.

Why did that name sound so familiar? Did they have classes together? Maybe hooked up once? Keith needed to know. There was something so familiar about him and he knew it was going to bother him until he got down to the bottom of it. 

“Uh..sir?” Lance asked, clearing his throat to get Keith’s attention. “How can I help you? We have a special on-”

“Tea.” Keith interrupted quickly, his eyes shooting up to look right back into those blue ones in front of him. “I’ll take some tea.” Keith clarified, trying his best to give a little smile to Lance to make up for his rude interruption. When he saw how Lance’s lips quirked up in a smile, he felt his own heart skip a beat or two. Okay. He really needed to remember this guy. There was no way he should have forgotten a smile like that. 

“Tea? Got it. But uh, which kind do you want? We have over ten options.” Lance chimed, leaning over the counter slightly so he could extend his hand out to point to his left at a little menu. It was decorated in little leaves, handwritten flavors and mixes littered the small blackboard. “We have a new Spring Summer Berry tea which has tons of fruity flavors to it. But you strike me as a plain tea drinker so I’m guessing you just want green?” 

Keith scoffed and took on a more offended look, his expression changing to confusion after he played back what Lance said. “Wait. Spring Summer Berry? That..doesn’t make sense. You can’t mix two seasons like that. It’s either spring or summer.” Keith explained, narrowing his eyes down at the board. “It’s like saying winter and fall are the same thing.” 

The laugh that came out of Lance made Keith feel tense, his cheeks lighting up in a soft blush out of embarrassment. Lance shook his head and looked both directions before he leaned in closer to Keith, his voice lowered down to a whisper, “I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s really just a bunch of fruit flavors mixed into our sweet tea. The name has nothing to do with it but let’s keep that secret between us, okay?” Lance winked before he stood back up fully, turning around so he could grab a medium size cup to show Keith. “So? Spring Summer Tea?” He asked playfully, shaking the cup tauntingly. 

There was silence for a few seconds, Keith just staring blankly at Lance almost in a daze. His logic made no sense. You can’t just mix seasons and yet, this shop did! It was wrong! Whoever made this drink was out of their mind and needed to be stopped before they made something even worse. Like Winter Spring tea. 

Keith lifted his hand up to his mouth and cleared his throat, his eyes still on the sign as he gave his answer,

“Green tea.”


	2. Chapter 2

Once Keith was settled with his tea, he paid out and gave Lance a little smile. He still couldn’t place where he knew the man from, but it was obvious that there was some type of connection. Keith walked on back to join Pidge once more at the table, sipping his tea casually while his eyes stayed locked over at the counter. 

“Oh no. Don’t think about it, Keith. You are not going down that path again.” Pidge warned with a pointed look, leaning away from her laptop to narrow her eyes at her friend. 

One of Keith’s brows raised in question, the cup moving away from his lips as he gave her a puzzled look. “What? I’m not thinking about anything. Just enjoying my tea.” Keith explained innocently, his eyes casually sliding back to the counter to watch Lance work once more. 

“Mhm exactly. Not thinking while staring down Lance. I know that look and you do not have the time to tap that. You aren’t going to be here for that long and Lance is..a lot. You aren’t prepared for that.” She went back to her laptop to type away once more, but she made sure to look up every now and then to check on Keith. The man across from her didn't bother to take his eyes off Lance this time, instead he just continued to stare and watch how the man flowed behind the counter. 

Keith scoffed behind the cup, sipping from it once more before he finally decided to stop staring and look back at his friend. “I’m going to be here for a couple of days and I think I know him. Or remember him from somewhere..did he go to the Garrison? Or maybe I met him at a party? Help me out here.” He mumbled, brows furrowing in though while he narrowed his eyes at the laptop. To anyone else, it might look like Keith was angry when in reality, he was just thinking pretty hard. 

Pidge sighed and shook her head, her eyes going from Keith back to the screen. Through her glasses, Keith could make out the Garrison website and files. Well, at least she was helping even in silence. At what risk, though? Last time she did that she got kicked out of the school. Maybe she found a better way to bypass their security. While he waited, Keith tapped his fingers against the cup, his eyes now trained on those glasses and Pidge. When he saw the smirk on her lips, he knew she found something. 

“Lance McClain. He used to go to the Garrison and recently dropped out. Not sure why..there isn’t a blemish on his records and his grades are actually amazing. Shockingly. Looks like he had a scholarship and his sister goes there, too. Seems like you two were in high school around the same time. Maybe for a semester before you bailed? You probably saw each other in the halls or something. Oooh I found some pictures. Looks like your latest crush was a cheerleader in college. Wow. He can do the splits..” She murmured the last part softly, but Keith was very quick to scoot on over and get a look for himself, not noticing the lurking shadow from behind. 

“Woah, you guys are snooping on me?” An angelic voice rang from behind them, a looming figure leaning over to check out the laptop. “Oh hey! That was during the championship! We got second place there.” Lance grinned and took off his apron, slinging it over his shoulder. “You know, Pidge. You could have just given him my number. No need to bring up my old stuff.” Lance muttered, leaning over the chair and staring down at the computer. 

The girl just chuckled and adjusted her glasses, looking up at Lance with a smirk. “Yeah, but it’s more fun this way. Gotta play it dumb for the best reactions. Right, Keith?" Pidge hummed innocently, leaning over on the table to wiggle her eyebrows at the blushing man beside her. 

Keith was flabbergasted. he could have had all the answers so easily and yet Pidge wanted to mess with him? He should have seen this coming. 

The girl at the computer moved her arm out to nudge Keith with her elbow, her tone once again teasing and riddled with sarcasm, "Don't worry, buddy. Happens to the best of us." Her attention then went to the men behind them, the tall coffee worker had the same smile on his face like when Keith first ordered. "Lance, you remember Keith? Used to go to school together before he dropped out?” 

Lance looked back at Keith and gave him a quick look over, his smile turning into a toothy grin. “Yeah, of course I do. I’d recognize that mullet anywhere. Still can’t believe you are wearing your hair that way. Wait. Wait a second. Did you forget me? What the hell, man? How could you forget me! We are basically rivals! You know, neck and neck at everything. I'd be like..a point behind you or we'd come really close in racing during gym!”

Keith was in absolute shock at this point. Not only did Lance remember who he was, but apparently Pidge knew him too and she didn’t say a word. He felt betrayed in the worst way. Keith felt his cheeks darken in color as he threw his hands up, thankfully not spilling his tea while he was at it. “Hey, it’s not my fault! I’ve been busy!” He said quickly, wanting to give himself some type of excuse. "I don't remember much of high school. There's been so much happening in life I've just been really busy." 

“Yeah, busy blowing off races and hiding from your manager. He’s too famous for us commoners, Lance. Don’t waste your time.” Pidge chimed in, closing out of the tabs she pulled up on the computer to clear her screen. “I have to head out. Class starts in about twenty minutes and I need to meet up with Matt to exchange some notes. Keith, we still on for tomorrow night?” Pidge asked, folding up her laptop and shoving it into her bag. Keith gave a quick nod and stood up, leaning over to give her a handshake and a goodbye. 

Lance watched their little exchange in silence, rolling back on the balls of his feet before he shot his hand up in an awkward wave goodbye to Pidge. Once she was out of sight, Lance turned his attention back to Keith, his smile still in place. “So you forgot about me, huh? Kind of hurtful. Maybe if you take me out for a drink or two I might forgive you.” Lance moved his elbow out to nudge Keith playfully, trying not to laugh at his reaction. 

Keith felt his face turn a few degrees darker, his nerves coming out as he stood to stand up next to Lance. They were about the same height, Keith had maybe about another inch on him. “Yeah, drinks sound good. Hang on a second..” Keith fumbled into his pocket and pulled out his phone, handing it on over to Lance quickly. Lance took it without question, putting in his number faster than he should have. 

“Just a heads up, if I stop replying it’s because my phone shut off. I think I’m good for another few days but we’ll see. I’ll see you tonight, okay?” He returned Keith’s phone after sending himself a quick text and pulled out his own so he could save the number. Of course, he replied with his address to make things easier. “Enjoy your tea.” With that, Lance left the small shop to get ready to go home leaving Keith dumbfounded and staring down at his phone’s screen. 

Lance McClain. The years really did well for that man look wise. He didn't like what he heard when Lance mentioned something about how his phone might be shut off soon. That just sounded rough. Maybe..maybe Lance would accept some help there. Keith still needed to tip him for making his tea. Keith moved back down to his chair, his lips gently pressed against the cup as he took a few more sips of his tea. 

A date should be the last thing he should be doing. If Shiro was here, Keith would be getting dragged out to go practice and not get some guy's hopes up. But..Shiro wasn't here. That meant Keith could have a little fun and maybe, just maybe, even get lucky tonight. Sure, Keith didn't have time for relationships but that didn't mean he couldn't mess around here and there. Lance was hot and they already had some kind of connection. 

Keith was way in over his head. Pidge was right. He couldn't possibly handle Lance but that didn't mean he didn't want to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof this is going really slowly. But I promise it'll heat up in the next few chapters! I hope you all enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

Lance stepped outside with a wide grin, feeling a lot better about this day than what he started with. He not only made some good tips, but he also got a cute guy’s number. Keith really improved his looks over the years. He was a lot more grizzled and well..hot. Oddly enough, he actually missed that mullet. Lance whistled while he walked, making his way over to the bike rack to unlock his rusty blue bike. The tires looked a little flat but they still got him from point A to B. The bike was handed down to him from his older brother as a moving away gift and Lance used it for everything. He took it to get groceries, to get to work, and just to drive around town when he was bored. There was nothing this bike couldn't do. 

“Alright, Blue. Let’s get home and get ready for a date tonight. Just some drinks. Nothing big. Just drinks with Keith..a pro racer. Wow. I'm actually going on a date with someone kind of famous.” He mused, pulling the lock out of the rails so he could tie it around his bike. He moved down the sidewalk slowly, getting ready to get on the bike before he felt a forced shove away from his beloved bike. Lance stumbled back, putting his hands up as he watched his bike get stolen by some teenage thug. “Hey! Bring that back!” Lance yelled, sprinting off to try to catch up to the teen. He ran down the street quickly, going a few blocks before he was out of breath. The tired man hunched over with his hands on his knees, trying to yell through his labored breathing, “you..you bring her back!” He panted weakly, lifting himself up to watch his precious bike fade off into the distance. He felt a surge of emotions rush through him. Anger, fear, and most of all, empty. That bike was his only source of transpiration! How was he supposed to get to work? He couldn’t afford another one! Not right now, anyway. Maybe in a few weeks if he could pick up more shifts if he was lucky. Lance turned around to head back to the shop, hoping that one of his co-workers would be kind enough to take him home after their shift. Brenda got off in an hour so maybe she might be able to step in and help? 

He opened the door to the coffee shop with a defeated look, his eyes looking around before he made his way on over to the counter and gave a weak smile, “Hey, Brenda. Brendy, Bren. The coolest barista in the world! Do you mind if I share a ride with you home? My bike got stolen on my way home and I really don’t want to walk all the way home.” He gave another pleading look, his smile still on his lips as he hoped for the best. Instead, he got an apology and an excuse. Truth be told, it was a good one but it didn’t work out well in the end for Lance. Sure, school was important but so was ditching to give a friend a ride home. But whatever. He didn't need to worry about that right now. What he needed to do was find a way home that wasn't going to take him an hour. 

Keith was still in the shop enjoying his tea and scrolling through his phone. After looking through the fifty or so messages from Shiro, he was able to look through emails and answer some important messages. As much as he enjoyed his carefree life, the grueling task of answering emails was horrible. Maybe he could hire Pidge to do this. She was good at talking to people--Or at least she was better than he was. His eyes shifted forward when he heard the chime of the bell, curiosity striking at seeing Lance enter again. He didn’t look very good. The slumped, sulking look never looked good on Lance. 

Of course, a little eavesdropping never hurt anyone. From what it sounded like, Lance was in a little bit of a pickle. Maybe this was his time to swoop in and save the day. Keith stood up from his chair and pushed it in, moving smoothly on over to the counter so he could get Lance’s attention. 

 

“Hey, I don’t mind giving you a ride home. I have nothing else to do until tonight, anyway.” Keith offered, tilting his head to the side slightly while he waited for an answer. 

Lance wasn’t sure how to feel. On one hand, he needed a ride home. On the other, he felt like this wasn’t the best way to impress someone he was supposed to go on a date with. He didn't need Keith to think that he was helpless! Still, getting home was way more important. 

“Thanks, man. I’d appreciate it.” Lance felt a weight lifted off his shoulders even though his pride was hurt in the process. He followed Keith outside, his hands shoved in his pockets as they walked slowly onto the sidewalk.

“So some guy stole your bike? What model is it?” Keith asked casually, moving his hands up to pull his hair back into a ponytail. “If you want we can try to find it. Is it a Harley? BMW?” Keith asked, moving over to the motorcycle parked in the nearby space. He lifted the compartment to pull out a black helmet, handing it over to Lance before he took out a red one to put on himself. He hopped onto the bike, bringing up the kickstand and glancing back at Lance who moved in behind him. 

“Uh..super close! It’s actually a bicycle. It’s blue and has some rust on the sides of it and a sticker of a lion on the side. There’s a little basket in the front, too.” Lance replied, his arms slowly moving to wrap around Keith’s torso. Keith turned his head to look back at Lance, his hand moving over to flip the visor up so he could get a clear look at the man. 

“A bicycle?" Well, Lance did mention a bike but he didn't think Lance meant that kind. "Alright. Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before?” Keith asked, wanting to be safe and know exactly what he was dealing with. If Lance was new to the world of bikes then things might be a little odd, but if he was experienced, then things could get fun very quickly. 

Lance shrugged and pressed a little closer to Keith, his eyes down on the ground while he mumbled, “nope. Never been on one. Can’t be that different.” He couldn’t help but to feel excited when he felt the engine of the bike be put into motion and felt Keith shift in front of him. It couldn't be all that different! He needed to keep his balance and hold onto something. Of course, that something was Keith.

“Well, hold on tight and don’t let go. Mind if we take a little detour? I haven’t been in this city in awhile and I want to see some of the sights.” Maybe Keith wanted to show off a little bit. He couldn’t help it! He had an awesome bike and he had a cute guy sitting behind him and holding onto him. Definitely a good opportunity here and he couldn’t let it go to waste. 

Lance gave a hum in approval, giving a little squeeze before he let himself relax against Keith. Relaxing was a bad idea because the next second they were off quickly, riding off into the streets and zipping past the traffic that was starting to form. It was obvious by Lance's little cheer that he wasn't expecting to go that fast, but the thrill of the speed just made Keith go even faster with Lance holding onto him. Nothing like a good cruise around town to find a stolen bike and avoid responsibilities.


End file.
